Justice and Piracy (a Zoro love story)

Justice and Piracy (a Zoro love story) : Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen,
"Bounty."

I had been so consumed by him and so swept away by my tide of emotion that I had not heard Luffy's approach until he began shouting. I smashed in Zoro's arms into a fine glittering dust and his tan skin turned a deep red as the captain came barreling toward us.

"Ah! Zoro! Did you see the ghosts?!" Luffy was none the wiser, too excited to notice anything.

Zoro just pointed out to the deck, unable to trust his voice and Luffy took to the night, his knees kicking up high as he ran. There was an angry buzz of noise, everyone was now awake, much to the annoyance of several crew members.

I merged together in the hallway and Zoro looked suddenly sheepish, he grinned awkwardly at me and then winked as the tide of angry bodies forced us on deck. Amongst all the fury and pushing I thought I felt him pull against my side, a memory of crowds and sun-bleached buildings filled my thoughts, I could almost smell the sweet cider from the city. Maybe that was just him.

In the morning we sat around the breakfast table, many faces looked tired from the disturbed sleep. Luffy appeared to have been beaten to within an inch of his life and lumps rose upon his crown and forehead. Chopper bandaged him as he ate.

"I'm telling the truth! Right? Zoro-san?!" Brook was eating as he spoke. It wasn't pleasant to watch.

"Ah. Yeah, there were ghosts." Zoro was back to his usual laid-back self, though he was a healthy two seats away from me, I was squashed between Sanji and Robin.

Sanji was wiggling with approval when I came down to eat wearing the navy sweater I'd worn last night, offset on my shoulders since it was too large, it hung around the deep set of my narrow collarbones. Beneath this I had dark coloured jeans that clung tightly to the shape of my legs, they sat nicely on my hips and had that already-worn frayed look to the top of my thighs. My boots had been neglected for it was easier to feel the sway and rock through bare soles.

When it was my turn Chopper plodded over and I pulled my arm free of my shirt so that he could tend to my shoulder. I was hardly paying attention to the chatter and picked slowly at my breakfast, everything was vaguely heart shaped and I think Sanji had written something in the sauce but I'd already smudged it before reading. I still had Chopper's book in my duffle bag. I would have to give it to him soon.

"Ah. This looks much better." Chopper commented as he revealed more and more of my creamy skin underneath.

The result was an almost pristine arm, I healed well, never retaining a mark on my skin, all that remained were the fine red lines that would soon pale and then vanish all together. I could still feel the tension in my muscle but that too would fade. My wrists were a similar case, only yellowing bruises blemished me and a dull ache that touched the bone.

"Ah! Everyone look!" Nami walked back into the kitchen, newspaper held aloft.

She had to move some empty plates to find a place for it to sit, and then opened it to reveal the picture of a stormy Isle flying marine colours. It was sunken at an awkward angle and its buildings looked derelict, inhabitable. I recognised it immediately and was not surprised. Amongst it's pages were the straw hats names and a fresh print of their wanted posters.

They were passed around to their respective owners. Sanji looked suddenly glum at the prospect of his hand drawn sketch, it looked a little bit like him but I didn't mention anything. He looked pretty upset already. It was next in the pile that I saw my face, stacked in price order between Luffy and Zoro. The numbers were higher than I'd anticipated, and rivalled Zoro's own bounty. I wasn't sure if I'd deserved it, though having ruined a marine base, I guess I had to have pissed someone off.

"Yuki-san!" Sanji cast away his depression as he held my picture to his face.

I had seen this image before, it was perhaps three or four years old, though I looked no different now. I appeared to be rested upon a broken stone wall, the bricks crumbled and several had been dislodged beside my feet. The background was obviously my home town, snow clung to every surface and was dusted an icy white, behind me a battlefield, bodies lay facedown, soldiers clad in glass armour stand around me. My guard.

I had one knee tucked toward my chest, my hand lay casually upon it and in the loop of my arm was a glass trident, about two feet taller than myself, it's forked end was bloodied and dripped toward the handle.

I too was clad in glass armour, it held around my shoulders, my forearms, my waist and shins. A glossy circlet like a crown sat atop my head amongst the raven black of my wavy hair. You could see my clothes beneath the glass, it was a kind of gown, white and the same low v-neck of ruffled silk that I still own. A glass breastplate cupped my chest, a design like waves made it beautiful, like frozen water. The sides of the dress were ripped open toward my hips and my set of legs were naked to my toes. My namesake was not only because of my pallid skin, but my resistance to cold.

My face was turned toward the camera, as if I looked directly into the lens. My eyes, as always, too dark and intimidating for my petite frame. From my soft peach lips you could see the vapour from where I'd drawn breath. My other arm supported me where I leaned to one side, it made my waist look small and my body longer than it was, my head was slightly tilted upward. I was looking down at whomever took this shot.

Above this picture was the standard text of wanted: dead or alive. Beneath was my given title and name,

"Warmaiden; Umino Yuki."